Two die in clashes at Mexico mine

Workers threw Molotov cocktails to deter police

Two people have died in clashes between striking workers and hundreds of police at a steel plant in southern Mexico.

Authorities stormed the complex in an effort to break a strike that has paralysed the plant, in Michoacan state, since the start of April.

Workers threw stones and improvised petrol bombs at about 600 police. More than 30 people were injured.

The strike was called after the government refused to recognise a union leader accused of corruption.

Union anger

The clashes broke out at the Sicartsa steel plant in Lazaro Cardenas, on Mexico's Pacific coast some 350km (220 miles) south-west of Mexico City.

Police used tear gas to force their way into the plant, where battles broke out.

Two workers died of gunshot wounds as they fought to stay in control, local officials said. Police and workers were among those hurt.

Workers remained in control of the plant despite the police operation.

Union representatives blamed Mexico's federal government for the impasse and eventual violence, demanding that President Vicente Fox intervene in the ongoing dispute.

"The labour secretary has stopped being a valid mediator and for that reason we urge political negotiation to end this conflict," the steelworkers' union said in a statement.

President Fox was reported to have convened his security cabinet in response to the disturbances.

Long-running row

Thousands of mine and metal workers across the country went on strike last month in defense of union boss Napoleon Gomez.

Mr Gomez, accused of fraud, was ousted in February, according to the government, which now recognizes a new leader.

But many union members reject the new leader and still support Gomez, who has not been seen in public for several weeks.

The latest dispute also follows a mining accident in northern Mexico in February.

Then 65 workers died in an underground gas explosion, sparking angry protests over mine safety and the failure of rescue teams to reach the bodies.